Reclusive Affection
by TifaIA
Summary: They were never meant to love and yet, fate brought them together. FFX in the not-so unusual twist. Any reviews would be greatly appreciated.


Disclaimer: Yeah, i don't own any of the Characters or Final Fantasy...but wouldn't that be cool? ^_^  
  
Final Fantasy X: Reclusive Affection  
  
By: TifaIA  
  
"Not to long ago we were all living in a peaceful world. Sin had been defeated and The Calm lasted for ten years. Lord Braska had defeated Sin…and yet everyone knew that the peace would not last. Sin would come back. Sin always comes back. This time though when Sin was defeated, everything felt different. Everyone knew that he had died for good and would never return. I had never witnessed Sin's death before, but there was a sense of calmness once the immoral creation of Yevon was put to rest once and for all. Spira would forever be free from the evil that reeked havoc, and we did this by defying the teachings.  
  
"More to say that the teachings defied us. To this day I have yet to understand the meaning of it all, but it is over now. There is no longer a reason for me to fight, to put my life on the line and risk it all for a summoner. With the future in my hands I am unsure of what to do with it. There are so many options to take and yet there is no where for me to turn. My thoughts dwell too much on myself when they should be focused on the sufferings of others, especially for Yuna.  
  
"She was groomed to become a summoner, knowing that she would die defeating Sin, and that did not happen. This one moment in her life has been altered and now she is left with nothing. I do not want to say that I pity her. She is like a younger sister to me. I would never put her in such a dejected position. Our victory was still met with a defeat, and I wish…I could cry out…for Yuna's pain…"  
  
"Hey Lulu!"  
  
Lulu lifted her head slightly, placing the pen she held down upon the table, closing the gray notebook in a rush. A rustle from the curtain-laden door caused Lulu to turn her body towards the tall figure bumbling inside the small home. Lulu shook her head; "It's just you."  
  
Wakka lifted his eyebrows. "What's that suppose to mean?"  
  
"Nothing," Lulu responded while rolling her eyes slightly. "I've been doing some thinking."  
  
Wakka stirred his body over to his right, looking over Lulu's bare shoulder to see the gray book she kept on her desk. "How's that coming along?"  
  
"Getting off to a slow start." Lulu moved her body to face the desk again as her eyes fell upon the notebook. "Still trying to make sense of everything."  
  
"Yah. Know what you mean." Wakka scratched the back of his head. "Guess you got your way of dealing with it. Maybe I should give that a try." Lulu began to open her mouth, but caught herself and said nothing. She kept herself still with her eyes mildly focused down. "Hey, Lulu…are you okay?"  
  
"Why do you ask?"  
  
"You would have said something by now," Wakka replied as he walked across the room to sit in a chair adjacent to Lulu's. "You don't seem like yourself lately, ya know?"  
  
Lulu crossed her arms over her chest. "There is nothing wrong with trying to sort out a few things."  
  
"Yah, but just don't get too caught up in it. Could be bad for you." Then there was silence. The only noise was the sound of the wind rustling against the door. Wakka stood up. "Well, just wondering if you wanted to se the practice."  
  
Lulu nodded her head. "Maybe some other time." Wakka did not say anything. He stood up from the chair and left quietly leaving Lulu by herself. She reopened her notebook, picked up the pen and continued to write.  
  
"This is about a young girl, in the shadow of her father, becoming the greatest summoner Spira has ever known. A summoner and her guardians. Hopefully, this will serve as a chance for better interpretation as to the events that took place, and maybe even some understanding in my own life, an understanding that I desperately need."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Wakka stood on the cliff, looking down at the village. His arms were crossed but his head was hung low. He was not quite himself that day, and Lulu knew why. She quietly walked forward to stand next to him. Wakka didn't move and acknowledged her presence with a slight nod of his head.  
  
Lulu glanced at the scenery. Her mind was focused on Wakka, and she didn't know why. Maybe it had to do with that day. All that Lulu knew was that she needed to talk to him. Her body shifted slightly, enough to face Wakka. He did not move. Lulu's lips parted and no words came out of her mouth. She took in a deep breath, brushing back the braids limping over her shoulders before trying to speak again. Lulu stuttered at first; "…Wakka…"  
  
Wakka put up a hand. "I know. You don't have to say it Lu." Wakka released a breath, still looking down at the small village.  
  
"Yes, I do." Wakka turned his head enough to meet Lulu's eyes. "Nothing can change what happened to him." Lulu paused, catching herself from stuttering. "Chappu wouldn't want us to always grieve for him. It's time for us to move on."  
  
"Hmph!" Wakka jolted his head away. "Maybe for you, but not me. He's my brother. My blood. That's something you could never understand."  
  
Lulu's eyes fell to the ground. "You're right. But I cared for him as much as you did so don't think that you were the only one hurt by…"  
  
Wakka let out a breath. "I never said that Lu." Wakka dropped his arms to his sides and began to pace back and forth in short strides. "This had been hard for both of us, ya know?" He stopped his movement and looked at Lulu. "I mean, what else is there to say?"  
  
Lulu nodded her head. "Neither of us was willing to give him up." She walked closer to the wooden railing teetering at the cliff's edge. "Things are much different than I anticipated." Then they stood in silence. { }  
  
Wakka walked next to Lulu, standing close to her as he placed his hands on the wooden rails and shifted a portion of his weight to the palms of his hands. "So, did you want to ask me about something?"  
  
"No, actually I came here to talk."  
  
Wakka turned his head to Lulu. "Are you sure you've got the right person?"  
  
Lulu turned her head away. "I know, it sounds a little absurd. I believed that I could handle my thoughts on my own. But now I need someone to talk to for understanding. Oddly enough, I didn't feel comfortable talking to anyone else."  
  
Wakka rolled his eyes. "Gee. Glad to know I was on the list."  
  
Lulu didn't respond, keeping her head turned away from Wakka knowingly. "I have wondered why we are all still alive when we should, in all respects, be dead. Chappu put aside the teachings and died. Yevon rejected us and we survived."  
  
Wakka shrugged his shoulders. "Guess that's how things work sometimes. Can't really predict what happens."  
  
"Maybe we can…"  
  
Wakka gave a blank stare at Lulu, even though she was not looking she could feel his eyes peering at her. "Despite what we choose, I think everything has a destiny. Remember the day when Yuna ran away from the village?"  
  
"How could I forget?" Wakka replied while nodding his head slightly. "I think that was the first time I saw Kimahri worried. Spent hours looking for her, but she found her way back. Swore to never let her leave my sight again."  
  
"When she came back, she had that wand in her hand and the next day she decided to become a summoner, just like that."  
  
"True…think there's a connection?"  
  
"At first, no. It never made sense to me why she wanted to become a summoner. We did our best to make sure that didn't happen, and it did."   
  
"It was the path chosen for her. If it made sense to her, then it makes sense to me."  
  
A smirk emerged from Lulu's lips. "Spoken like a true guardian." Wakka didn't respond nor make a gesture. "I thought about my past, if anything correlated with Yuna's experience. The stuffed moogle I own was the last gift my parents gave me the day before they died. After that day, I wanted to become a protector of the people and became a guardian."  
  
Wakka placed a hand on his chin and tilted his head down. "Come to think of it, the same thing happened to me. Standing out on the beaches, looking over the clear ocean, and out of nowhere came a blitzball floating by. I didn't like the game before, but after that ball came, all I could do was think about the game. But what does any of that have to do with defeating Sin?"  
  
"Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. Focusing on Sin only brought out deeper thought into why we are who we are, and it accounts for some of the events that have happened."  
  
"Other events?" Wakka turned his head to Lulu.  
  
Lulu crossed her arms over her body, feeling a chill run down her spine. "I…never told you…that Chappu ended our relationship…the day before he left Besaid."  
  
A puff of air emerged from Wakka's breath. "Sure Lu. My brother would never do that." He gave an almost jovial, yet serious, look to Lulu. She looked back at him, not saying a word. Though she made no emotion, her eyes were brimming with sadness. Wakka nearly bit his tongue back. "Oh…You serious? Chappu did that?"  
  
Lulu barely nodded her head and turned away to look at the 'prayer stone'. "He didn't want for me to wait for him if something happened. As much as I didn't want him to, I could understand why he did it. We were slowly starting to grow apart, wanting to live different lives…and now I wish I had never realized that."  
  
Wakka stood in disbelief. He had no idea how to respond or what emotions to express. Everything that he knew about the last few days in his brother's life were all lies. Chappu had everything going for him, friendship, love, happiness, family, and then to leave it all behind to die, giving everything up for his own beliefs. Wakka stood in confusion. He walked over to the stone and kneeled down. Lulu slowly walked towards Wakka to stand next to him. "I'm sorry," she whispered.  
  
"It's okay. Never expected for that to happen, ya know, considering…" Lulu stood next to Wakka for a few minutes before walking away and returning to the village leaving Wakka alone. He stayed kneeled at the stone, allowing the thoughts to process through his head. All of his emotions came pouring in at once. He wanted to hit something desperately, but never found the motivation to leave the spot until his thoughts became clear again.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Half the day had passed and the sun was started the settle in the horizon. Wakka entered Lulu's home and found her writing in her book. Lulu placed the pen down on the book and turned around to face Wakka standing in the doorway. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Could be better." He walked inside and sat down in the chair next to Lulu, her eyes following him as he did so. "Just can't believe that everything I knew about my brother's final days has been a lie."  
  
As Lulu was about to speak, Wakka begun talking, having anticipated Lulu's response. "Better that you told me now than on my deathbed. Don't want to leave this world having regrets." Lulu moved her body a little to close her book and then shifted back to face Wakka. "So, what was the point you were making about Chappu?"  
  
Lulu took in a deep breath and released it slowly. "The next day, you were attempting to make me feel better about Chappu leaving. You were doing a terrible job, but it made me smile to see you trying so hard. I've never smiled like that. Ever since, we've been growing close as friends."  
  
"Yah. Understand why Chappu liked you so much." Wakka squinted his eyes and turned his head away for a moment, regretting the comment he had just made.  
  
Lulu's expressions did not shift. She seemed unalarmed by Wakka's remark. "Maybe that's it."  
  
Wakka quickly composed himself and turned back to Lulu. "What's it?"  
  
Pressed to roll her eyes, Lulu resisted the urge to do so. "Maybe this all happened so that we would end up together."  
  
Wakka nodded his head. "Makes sense. There was always something there but couldn't place it."  
  
Lulu let out a sigh. "Strange. I thought that this would have more of an impact."  
  
"Mmm…the time's not right." Wakka stood up from the chair. "Lu, you're someone special and if destiny, or whatever, wants us to be together, then let destiny do it's business and make that moment important. I think we'll know when the time is right."  
  
Lulu sat in some-what amazement. "That's very insightful of you. I would have to agree."  
  
Wakka locked his eyes onto Lulu's. "Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Lulu shook her head from side to side in a short rhythm.  
  
Wakka proceeded to leave just as Lulu spoke. "Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome," he replied, looking back at Lulu just as he walked through the doorway. He stood outside and tilted his head up to the stars with a smile appearing upon his face.  
  
Lulu went back to her notebook, picking up the pen and placing it back down on the paper.  
  
"I may never be able to understand everything that has happened. But I do know that soon another chapter in my life will begin, one that I may actually be proud of. As much of a curse that stranger from the ocean was, he did help to bring everyone closer together. Without him, none of this would have happened. Destiny is confusing in that sense. We may expect for something to happen and then it never does. But the unexpected always comes into play and somehow, everything works out. We were all meant to be together again. I hope that Yuna will one day find him…so that I can thank him personally for everything that he has done." 


End file.
